Waiting For You
by jmsbndgrl
Summary: An extened ending to ROTJ. What Anakin's spirit did after leaving the celebrations on Endor. Vignette.


**Waiting for You**

**_An Anakin / Padmé Vignette_**

* * *

With the celebrations on Endor coming to a close, Jedi Masters Yoda and Obi-Wan Kenobi's spirits faded into the Force. However, the spirit of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker lingered.

Anakin cast one last glance at Luke and Leia, his children and hopes for the future. They were the physical manifestation of all that had been good in his life. With one last smile to the symbols of his love for his wife, Anakin's spirit faded from the moon of Endor to travel to another distant planet.

* * *

Invisible to passersby, Anakin's spirit wandered the streets of Theed on the planet of Naboo. Celebrations were occurring throughout the city as citizens of the democracy-loving planet rejoiced in their freedom from Palpatine's tyranny. Anakin gave a sad smile as he witnessed the festivities. He knew his wife would have wanted things like this, but it hurt that she was not here to witness it. Her absence was his fault. He had lived with anger for his actions for years, but now that his son had set his spirit free, Anakin was able to feel grief and remorse for his actions.

Moving away from the jubilant and vibrant city square, Anakin wandered to the outskirts of Theed. No people were present in this part of town as all living souls were celebrating in the main part of the city. Anakin moved with solemn reverence towards his destination, passing the headstones of Nubian citizens that had become one with the Force.

Anakin looked left and right, reading the headstones in search of the resting place of an angel. Moving past the headstones of the Nubian cemetery, Anakin became distressed with each stone he passed that did not yield the Angel's resting place. However, his concern was unwarranted because she was peacefully resting in a small garden in the back of the cemetery.

The garden was small, but filled with red Nubian roses, her favorite, Anakin noted as he stepped inside. The setting sun was casting a soft glow across the garden, seeming to highlight this location as special. Although his heart constricted with pained memories, Anakin was pleased that the Angel had been given such a beautiful resting place. However, Anakin was not able to focus on the surroundings for long, for he was soon face to face with the headstone he had been searching for:

_Padmé Naberrie Amidala_

_Beloved Queen, Senator, and Daughter_

_An Angel Among Mortals_

"My Angel." Anakin whispered in reverent awe as he knelt before the headstone, his head bowed in supplication. A tear fell down his cheek as his gaze fixated on the final resting place of his beloved wife, a place he had sent her to many years ago.

He brushed his ghostly fingers over the grass in front of him as if he was brushing a stray strand of hair from his angel's face. It pained him that her curls were not interwoven in his fingers, he had ensured that he would never feel her silky tresses again, several years ago. It was his fault that her beautiful face with vibrant chocolate eyes was not smiling back at him. It was his actions that fateful night on Mustafar that meant she was resting in the ground below him rather than in his arms.

This final thought was too much for Anakin and he broke down completely, curling into a ball at the foot of his wife's grave while he cried out her loss. "I'm sorry." He sobbed over and over in his mourning.

Anakin's cries continued as the sun set and the graveyard was filled with the glow from the stars and three moons above Naboo's sky. He may have stayed in his state of mourning for the rest of time, but a soft gentle voice shook him from his grief.

"I've been waiting for you." The feminine voice stated as a soft hand rested upon Anakin's right shoulder.

"Pa… Padmé?" Anakin gazed up at the ghostly form of his wife, unsure if it was really her. He wanted it to be her, but he was afraid he was only imagining the beautiful ethereal form before him. She was dressed in a simple turquoise gown, with a deep blue cape that was draped regally around her shoulder. White lilies scattered in her hair caught the moonlight and provided a radiant glow to the young woman before him. Anakin had never seen Padmé where this dress before, so he was still under the impression that he was imagining the ghostly form before him.

"I've been waiting for you." The ghostly woman repeated, sweeping her hand towards Anakin's cheek to brush her fingers against it.

Anakin jerked away from the apparition's touch. "Who… who are you?"

"Someone who loves you." The woman stated with warm affection as her eyes sparkled with love.

"Padmé… Is that you?" Anakin asked in disbelief. His voice cracked as he spoke.

"Yes, my love." Padmé smiled, and then she pulled a small pendant from the inside of her robes.

The pendant was the only proof Anakin needed. Only his Padmé would carry the tiny pendant of japor he had made her as a young boy. Tears of joy now fell from his face as Anakin stood and pulled his wife's ghostly form into his arms. "Padmé." Anakin choked on a sob as he buried his head in her shoulder. "Padmé, I'm so sorry."

"Shh, my love. You have come back to me, as I knew you would." Padmé ran her fingers through Anakin's hair, soothing her husband's soul.

"I… I didn't meant to. I'm…" Anakin began his apologies again

"Shh." Padmé hushed her husband. "It is in the past, let it go. Think of our love, it is what brought you back to me. I knew it would."

"How can you forgive me?" Anakin pulled back from his wife, his blue eyes dull with grief and shame.

Padmé smiled sweetly at him. "Because I love you. I always have and I always will. You will always be my love for all of time. I never gave up on you, I knew there was still good in you."

"I was a fool." Anakin mumbled, casting his gaze to his feet.

Padmé ran her hand affectionately down Anakin's cheek before tilting his chin up so that his eyes locked with hers. "You were deceived my love, but you no longer are. You saved our son and the galaxy. In doing so you proved my final words to Obi-Wan. There was still good in you. I just needed to wait for you to find it." Padmé finished her statement by brushing away one of Anakin's stray tears.

"I missed you." Anakin's bottom lip trembled as he spoke. "I felt my life was nothing without you."

Padmé wrapped her arms around her husband in a comforting hug. "I missed you as well, but I didn't stop waiting for you. My eternity could not start without you."

"I'm sorry." Anakin murmured another apology.

"Hush my love. We are together again, together forever, and that is all that matters. Do not think of the past, think of the future." With the end of her statement, Padmé cupped Anakin's face in her hands and brought his lips to hers. She poured all her love for him into that kiss.

Initially, Anakin felt overwhelmed by Padmé's forgiveness and acceptance of him, but the feel of her in his arms felt right. He felt like he was coming home after a long difficult journey. Soon, he reciprocated Padmé's kiss by giving all his love for her back in return. The kiss lightened Anakin's spirit as he held his love, his angel, close to him. As their kiss continued, Anakin and Padmé's ethereal forms faded into the Nubian night. Both became one with the Force, to love each other for the rest of time.


End file.
